Design and Installation

Wind Energy Development in Harsh Environments
Subtopic 3: Design and Installation Challenges
Simon Ferguson
6th and 7th of July 2010
St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Design and Installation Challenges

1. Design Standards and Certification
2. Environmental Considerations
3. Turbine suitability
4. Cold weather packages and cold weather turbine shutdown
5. Material specifications
6. Foundations and Civil design
7. Electrical
8. Turbine transportation, installation and operation
Turbine Design Standards and Certification

International Standards
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): IEC 61400-1 Wind Turbines Part1:

Design requirements
Germanischer Lloyd (GL) Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines
Canadian Standards
Canadian Standards Association (CSA): CAN/CSA-C61400-1:08

Suggested deviations from the IEC standard
External conditions such as wind speed and temperature
Electrical and building code standards
Certification of Wind Turbine Designs
Design, type certifications and Statement of Compliance

GL, DNV, TV Nord, etc
CSA standards only been used a guide as turbines not currently certified to them
Requirement for turbine [structural] design certification in Canadian projects is
typically from Owners and Lenders to ensure project lifetime
Environmental Considerations
The IEC wind turbine design classes consider the following
Long-term annual wind speed
Extreme gust wind speed
Turbulence intensity
Extreme wind direction change
Extreme wind shear
Temperature range
Wind turbine
class
II
III
Vref (m/s)
50.0
42.5
37.5
A
B
C
0.16
0.14
0.12
Values specified by
designer
IEC 61400-1 ed. 3. Subclass A, B and C refer to turbulence intensity
Other Environmental Considerations

IEC 61400-1 suggests consideration of the following:
Temperature *
Humidity *
Air density *
Solar radiation
Rain, hail, snow and ice *
Chemically active substances
Mechanically active particles
Salinity *
Lightning
Earthquakes
* Newfoundland and Labrador considerations
Environment Canada: source for extreme wind speeds and temperature
Environmental Conditions Related Issues

Loss of turbine performance and availability from:
Power demand from heating
Blade and anemometry icing
Maintenance difficulties
Access disruption to turbines and substations
Increased turbine loading from higher air densities
Safety concerns such as falling ice turbine setback distances
Corrosion
Gaspe
Is your turbine suitable?

Important to assess site meteorological conditions beforehand
Guidelines from GL Wind Turbines for Extreme Temperatures (cold climates):
Definition of a cold climate (and when a cold weather package is required) is less
than -20oC for more than 1 hour in 9 days per year
Additional certification requirements such as:
Corrected air density for load calculations
Appropriate material selection
Consideration of thermal expansion stresses
Heaters for components
Protection of electronic devices
Cold Weather Extreme Design Adaptions

Nacelle and up-tower component heating and insulation
Offered by most of the first and second tier turbine manufacturers
Type and project certification includes assessment of:
Load assumptions
Safety and control system
Automatic ice detection
Manuals
Rotor blades, nacelle cover and spinner
Machinery components
Strength verifications
Building structures
Electrical installations
What are cold weather packages?

International standards for turbine design (IEC and GL) specify minimum
normal ambient air temperatures of:
-10oC operational
-20oC stand-still
Not sufficient for the most of Canada

Cold weather packages extend operational and stand-still range of
turbine, typically down to normal ambient temperatures of:
-30oC operational
-40oC stand-still

Heating for components such as:
Nacelle space
Yaw drive and pitch motors
Gearbox (through external oil heater for start-up)
Generator stand-by
Slip ring
Controller and control cabinet
Battery
Power consumption from heating can range up to 200kW to 300kW per turbine for
conditions below -20C

Special alloyed materials for:
Ductile iron for hub and machine frame
Tower steel
Main and planetary shafts
Nacelle sealing/insulation
Low temperature lubricants
Heated anemometry
Others features such as:
Ice detectors
Blade heating by hot air recirculation or heating elements
(Enercon)
Cold weather shutdown strategy

Turbine will shutdown in low temperature conditions - strategies include:
Cut-off for ambient temperature
Reduced power output for temperature range (curtailment)
Some components typically must be heated:
Nacelle temperature > -30oC to -20oC
Controller temperatures > 0oC
Hydraulic oil > +10oC
Gearbox oil > +30oC and bearings > +25oC
Generator windings and bearings > +15oC
A start-up time period as well as parasitic power is required to achieve a minimum
component temperature
Grid outage: start-up time may be significant (e.g. 12 hours)
Material Specifications
Additional tests required if temperatures lower than corresponding standards
For example a toughness 27 J Charpy impact test at -40C.
Turbine
part
Material
Standard
Temp
[C]
Grade/spec
Castings
Spheroidal graphite iron

(ductile iron) ferrite grades
EN 1563
>-20C
>-40C
400
350 (special 400)
Fabrications
and Towers
Structural steel all grades
EN 10025
>-20C
>-40C
J20 grades
Special purchase or
Chinese grades
Q345E or higher
grades
Blades
Glass fibre reinforced plastic

(GFRP)
GL guidelines
Special tests
Forgings
Medium alloy steel
EN 10083
Special tests
e.g. 34CrNiMo6
ASTM 572-694
EN S355 NL
-50C
F42 and F50

Charpy 50 J and 100 J
Flanges and
welds
Electrical
CSA and ESA standards
Design requirements
Electrical connections
Insulation and bonding
Industrial control equipment
Regional electrical codes and safety requirements
Balance of Plant (BoP) designed to Canadian standards
Suitable setbacks from turbines if overhead lines are chosen
Design of arc flash and insulator needs consideration
Maintenance strategy after high winds, snow and ice storms
Electrical installations
General
Definition of thermal areas
Temperature range for each area
Confirmation of component manufacturer / sub-supplier
Measurements or tests
Transformers and windings of generator and motors
Are not under voltage when measured temperature is less than minimum allowable
Heating requirement prior to a restart
Test of heating within prototype testing
Electrical Cabinets
Low temperature capability review of all installations
Heating designed to maintain minimum temperature defined under all circumstances
Analysis or tests
Bearings
Slip ring
Storage devices
Cables and lines
Foundations and Civil design

Canadian national and provincial building codes
Concreting in cold weather
Thermal blankets and heaters

Monitor concrete temperature
Air-entrained concrete mix
Heated mixing water and aggregates
Monitor temperatures of surfaces in contact with fresh concrete
Non-frozen sub-grade
Finishing and curing to minimize cracking
Tower anchor bolts in cold weather
Tower steel and connecting bolts may have toughness criteria (Charpy Impact)
Common anchor bolt ASTM material specifications do not have criteria
Low toughness may reduce fatigue life and implies brittle failure
Annual ping testing (strike top of bolt with ball peen hammer) will identify extreme loss
of tension or fracture

Grout shoulder extending onto vertical face of tower flange

Differential thermal expansion between tower flange and grout causes
grout spalling

Water infiltration causes freeze- jacking of grout, undermining tower
flange

Severe anchor bolt corrosion inside tower
Turbine transportation, installation and operation

Environmental Considerations (weather windows)
Temperature
Wind speed
Wind-chill
Snow and ice build-up
Rain
Visibility (fog and blizzards)
Working considerations (IEC)
Operators instruction manual

Work procedures plan
Emergency procedures plan, specifically:
Icing conditions
Lubrication defects
Snow and ice clearance plan for turbines and movement about site
Working conditions and legislation during construction
Operations and maintenance strategy considering weather windows
Cranes, hoists and lifting equipment
Operations
Turbine commissioning
Summer versus winter
Providing site access to turbines and
substations
Minimize cold weather maintenance
Safety procedures for falling ice
Operational experience
Icing
Wind speed
How much energy has been lost?
Design and Installation concluding thoughts
Important to consider design basis, regulations and environmental conditions
Cold weather conditions affect structural integrity, construction and

operational performance
Wind turbine technology is available:

Designs for cold and windy sites
Material specifications
Matching of cold weather package to site based on track record
Civil and electrical design solutions are also available
Optimise operational performance and maintenance
Still room for innovation in design and installation
Thank you
Onshore & Offshore Wind
Experts in renewable energy

www.gl-garradhassan.com
Wave & Tidal
Solar PV & CSP

Design and Installation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design and Installation

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design and Installation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are some of the design and installation challenges discussed in the document?

What are some of the design and installation challenges discussed in the document?

What environmental factors does the IEC standard consider in wind turbine design?

What environmental factors does the IEC standard consider in wind turbine design?

Wind Energy Development in Harsh Environments

Subtopic 3: Design and Installation Challenges

Design and Installation Challenges

Turbine Design Standards and Certification

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): IEC 61400-1 Wind Turbines Part1:

Canadian Standards Association (CSA): CAN/CSA-C61400-1:08

Certification of Wind Turbine Designs

Design, type certifications and Statement of Compliance

IEC 61400-1 ed. 3. Subclass A, B and C refer to turbulence intensity

Other Environmental Considerations

Environment Canada: source for extreme wind speeds and temperature

Environmental Conditions Related Issues

Is your turbine suitable?

Cold Weather Extreme Design Adaptions

What are cold weather packages?

Not sufficient for the most of Canada

What are cold weather packages?

What are cold weather packages?

Cold weather shutdown strategy

Spheroidal graphite iron

Structural steel all grades

Glass fibre reinforced plastic

Medium alloy steel

F42 and F50

Regional electrical codes and safety requirements

Balance of Plant (BoP) designed to Canadian standards

Suitable setbacks from turbines if overhead lines are chosen

Design of arc flash and insulator needs consideration

Maintenance strategy after high winds, snow and ice storms

Foundations and Civil design

Thermal blankets and heaters

Tower anchor bolts in cold weather

Foundations and Civil design

Foundations and Civil design

Foundations and Civil design

Foundations and Civil design

Turbine transportation, installation and operation

Working considerations (IEC)

Operators instruction manual

Design and Installation concluding thoughts

Important to consider design basis, regulations and environmental conditions

Cold weather conditions affect structural integrity, construction and

Wind turbine technology is available:

Civil and electrical design solutions are also available

Optimise operational performance and maintenance

Still room for innovation in design and installation

Onshore & Offshore Wind

Experts in renewable energy

Wave & Tidal

Solar PV & CSP

You might also like